People who don’t exercise regularly are not successful losing weight and keeping it off long term. The minimum amount of exercise I have seen to make a difference is four hours per week. Optimum is 6 hours per week. Most of my clients exercise with me two to three days per week and work out on their own the same amount of time.
People who don’t drink enough water don’t lose weight. My weight loss winners have so ingrained the habit of drinking water, they usually have their own water bottle to carry wherever they go.
People under constant stress don’t lose weight. Under constant stress, the body produces hormones that actually lower metabolism. I have seen even the most successful dieters grind to a complete halt on the scale when their stress level goes over the top. Others under constant stress never lose weight, no matter how much they exercise or how little they eat.
People with blood sugar imbalances don’t lose weight. If you are hypoglycemic, you are hungry all the time. If you are hyperglycemic, you store fat quickly and easily. Worst of all, I have seen clients whose long-term starve and binge behaviors led to a condition where they alternate from periods of low energy to storing even the smallest portions of food as fat.
Exercising more than 1 hour per day often causes so many disruptions in body chemistry – vitamin and mineral deficiencies, hormonal imbalances and stress disorders – that the body has difficulty releasing fat. Elite athletes who train longer have to take much greater care of their nutrition and rest schedules not to over train at this level.
People who don’t eat enough protein for their exercise level, stress level and immune system status don’t build muscle and don’t lose weight.
People who fail to address their underlying emotional issues – for example, discomfort with their sexuality, ability to handle all their feelings, especially anger and loneliness – don’t lose weight.
People who fail to address their underlying health issues – for example, hormone imbalances, food allergies and digestive disorders – don’t lose weight permanently.
People with eating disorders do not lose weight until they stop starving and bingeing. This is a process that involves emotional healing as well as physiological restoration of brain chemistry through specialized kinesiology and blood sugar corrections with small, frequent meals. I have yet to see a single client succeed at long-term weight loss until they began simultaneously facing their personal addictions.
Nobody loses weight permanently until they are willing to make a commitment to do whatever it takes to be happy, healthy and thin. Most people are in what psychologists call the contemplation stage of change – they would rather dream about being thin than give up the emotional and physical habits that have caused them to be unhealthy and overweight. Stop dreaming. Have the guts to be your best.
What Works:
Regular, consistent exercise with lots of variety – up to 1 hour per day at the most. I laugh when people ask me for the “perfect program” they can do every day. This would be akin to learning ABCs and reading Dick and Jane books the rest of your life. Total Fitness is a matter of learning how to constantly challenge yourself, mentally and physically. Learn how to exercise in a way that’s consistent with your level of health, and progress to integrate all your muscles.
Drinking half your body weight in ounces of water per day, minimum. Water is the best natural weight loss drug there is.
Meditating, doing yoga, Qi Gong and Tai Chi, studying scriptures of your choice, taking naps, hot baths and going to bed before 10 p.m. are all key to allow the body to produce the DHEA and growth hormones essential for fighting fat. Even the most zealous overachievers would add these practices to their daily schedules if they understood the biochemistry of stress!
Balance your blood sugar first before restricting calories. If you are tired and hungry all the time, have anxiety, depression, panic attacks, diabetes or hypoglycemia or any hormone imbalance, this step is essential for long-term success.
Train daily, but don’t over train. If you are exhausted mentally and physically, you can still exercise by incorporating walking, yoga, Tai Chi and Qi Gong to rebuild your energy. As you recover, progress to weight lifting and more vigorous forms of aerobic exercise.
Determine your optimum protein level to build muscle, squelch hunger, balance hormones and raise your metabolism.
Enter a program of spiritual and/or personal growth. Specialized kinesiology and Life Coaching with Total Fitness can successfully clear the issues at the root of excess pounds. Some of these issues may even go back to birth. Many clients stop growing physically wider when they start growing spiritually taller.
Focus on health first, fitness second. Why? Fitness is an adaptation to stress. If you are not healthy, there will be a limit to how fit you can be. That means making all choices in nutrition and exercise based on what’s best for your overall personal health, not on some popular diet or exercise book. The most frustrated dieters I’ve seen are those who have made themselves sick by years of starving themselves and/or over exercising.
Heal your dependency on food, alcohol and/or other so-called recreational drugs. I have successfully helped many release the chains of addictions through nutrition and specialized kinesiology. Liberate your spirit from these addictions if you really want to release your fat.
Hire a mentor, and listen. Numerous studies about what it takes to make a successful change show that although you can do it on your own, you are more successful if you work with someone who has been there ahead of you. That’s what Total Fitness is all about – providing healthy partnerships through the process of personal and professional development.